The excess mortality in Slovakia approached 20% in December and was the second highest in 2022
The higher overall excess mortality was primarily caused by an increase in the number of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system and respiratory system. From a regional point of view, Trenčiansky kraj mostly recorded an increased number of deaths, where the number of deaths exceeded the pre-pandemic average by almost a third. 93 people succumbed to the COVID-19 infection in December, it was the eighth most common cause of death.
In the last month of last year, more than 5.4 thousand people died in Slovakia, which was the third highest number in the last twelve months after March and January. The total number of deaths was higher by 17.8% than the average value of the same month in 2015-2019 before the onset of the pandemic1). This follows from preliminary data on the number of deaths and causes of death in December 2022 published by the Statistical Office of the SR. The office also adjusted the data for the first eleven months of last year.
The data for the entire last year will be further adjusted. "Data on the number of deaths in Slovakia and the causes of death in 2022 are currently being exhaustively checked and adjusted, and like other years, the definitive data will be published at the end of March 2023," said Zuzana Podmanická, Director of the Population Statistics Department of the SOSR.
In December, as during the whole of last year, fewer persons died in the group of people of productive age (from 15 to 64 years) compared to the 5-year average before the pandemic. Among the dead, the number of seniors over 65 significantly increased in December, which is the most numerous of the three basic age groups in the structure of the dead. In December 2022, the excess mortality reached almost 24%, when a total of about 4.3 thousand seniors died (they accounted for almost 79% of all deaths).
The development of mortality among younger seniors (from 65 to 74 years old) was even worse. The excess mortality of younger seniors was less than 30%, while it was at the level of 21% for older seniors.
In December, the number of deaths most significantly increased in Trenčiansky kraj (by 33%) and in Trnavský kraj (by 21%) compared to the 5-year average before the onset of the pandemic. On the contrary, an increase in the number of deaths was the most moderate in Banskobystrický kraj (by 11%) and in Košický kraj (by 12%).
The higher excess mortality was mainly affected by an increase in the number of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system
Even in the last month of last year, the most common causes of death were diseases of the circulatory system, which accounted for 47% of deaths (almost 2.6 thousand people) and tumours for 22% (almost 1.2 thousand people). These two groups of deaths have long been among the most common causes of death in Slovakia. More than 13% more people died from diseases of the circulatory system in December, compared to the average for the years 2015-2019, which was also reflected in the higher overall excess mortality at the end of last year. After five months, a slight increase in tumours was recorded, in December 2022, almost by 2% more people died than the five-year average.
93 people died from the COVID-19 infection in December. The coronavirus representing almost 2% of all deaths has been in the last months (i.e. since May 2022) among the causes of death that only marginally affect mortality. It was ranked eighth among 22 disease groups2). During the first four months of last year, the coronavirus was the third or fourth most common causes of death2).
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